About

Beyond the three trillion dollars of healthcare spend in our economy, beyond the political tug of war in Washington, the heart of the healthcare conversation should be about the individuals and families touched by illness, injury—and innovation. The political news cycle, investment hype cycle, and the cynicism they can bring often distract from the huge change taking place in healthcare today.

Rock Health’s mission is to make healthcare massively better for every human being. We do this by supporting and investing in companies that improve healthcare using technology. After seven years, we’ve seen $23B invested into thousands of digital health companies. But we wanted to know: what has been the real-world impact of digital health? What is the effect of companies that prioritize the patient experience? So we asked our portfolio companies to share their impact on peoples' lives. We were overwhelmed to learn how so many lives have been changed by their work, by this new wave of health technology. We aim to shift the digital health dialogue from one focused primarily on the degree of investment and future expectations to one about digital health's effect on patients and healthcare outcomes. We have found that in healthcare, those two things (real-world impact and financial strength) are inextricably linked. In that spirit, this ongoing project brings you stories of people living far outside Silicon Valley and the companies shifting the healthcare status quo who have made an impact on their lives.

We've seen digital health rapidly mature as more entrepreneurs, investors, and organizations work on technology-based solutions for healthcare.

Each of their stories is as unique as their backgrounds, ages, and health experiences. They’re a mix of digital natives and novices. They come from states across the country—Arizona, Florida, New York, Texas, California. Some sought help outside a traditional healthcare system that failed them, while others found digital health within the four walls of a hospital. Despite their differences, their stories have striking similarities. Among these is the way novel, digital health technology quickly faded into the background, and the human experience shined brighter.

These stories showed us not only the massive change a few dedicated people can make in the lives of patients, but also the deep collaboration required of people across many industries in order to make health care cheaper, faster, healthier—better. Though the venture community regularly measures impact in terms of venture dollars raised, that’s obviously the wrong metric of success. Our portfolio and track record show that a focus on impact, on tangible health outcomes for everyday people and on economic value for the healthcare system, works as an investment strategy.

The Impact Project is also meant as a guiding light for why we at Rock Health, our portfolio companies, and our partners work in healthcare—and why every person is a stakeholder in the success of digital health innovation.

Acknowledgements

This project would not be possible without the help of:

Mollie McDowell: Directing and storytelling

Beamer Wilkins: Website design and development

Danielle McGuinness: Partnerships

Jami, Jane, Kevin, Michael, and Tyrone for their time and generosity in sharing their stories

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The Stories

Six weeks after a long-awaited liver transplant and a near-death experience from infection, Kevin drove 326 miles to reunite with his children. He never imagined he'd live to see this day—and an algorithm helped make it possible.

After living with type 2 diabetes for over three decades, Mike was coming to terms with having a few good years of life left. Less than a year later, he has reversed his diabetes, lost fifty pounds, and is looking forward to old age.